Azerbaijan FM arrives on two-day visit to Pakistan

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov on Wednesday arrived in Pakistan on a two-day official visit.

He was warmly received by Additional Foreign Secretary for Afghanistan and West Asia Ahmed Naseem Warraich at the Islamabad International Airport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X account.

FM Bayramov will call on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and hold extensive discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar. 

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In April, Azerbaijan emphasised that Pakistan should resume imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Central Asian nation to meet its growing domestic consumption needs.

Earlier, during the tenure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, the two sides signed an agreement for import of at least one LNG cargo per month.

It was not based on the controversial “take-or-pay” clause rather it was a commercial deal that could better suit Pakistan. However, Islamabad imported only a few LNG cargoes from Azerbaijan and could not continue to take supplies on a regular basis.

Separately, Pakistan has been importing LNG from Qatar for many years under a long-term contract. The contract is based on the take-or-pay condition, as part of which Pakistan is bound to import gas from Doha without any interruption.